Pillow with firearm compartment

ABSTRACT

A pillow for holding a firearm comprising a pillow assembly and a firearm compartment positioned inside the pillow assembly. The firearm compartment is configured to define a grip portion, a trigger guard portion, and a barrel portion. The firearm compartment has an opening with a closure mechanism for selectively closing the opening of the firearm compartment. A portion of the opening is free of the closure mechanism so as to define a quick access portion configured to allow a user to rapidly open the closure mechanism.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 61/913,557, filed on Dec. 9, 2013, the entire content of which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Personal safety is, unfortunately, a growing concern in modern society.While a person is travelling, working, or outside of the person's home,they are typically aware of their surroundings and avoid potentiallydangerous areas, people, and situations. However, concerns aboutpersonal safety also exist in the person's home, such as in cases ofburglaries, home invasions, vandalism, or other situations where aperson may be confronted by one or more attackers inside the person'shome.

To enhance a person's ability to defend themselves and to provide fortheir own personal safety, as well as the personal safety of familymembers, such as spouses or children, some individuals choose to own aweapon. Examples of weapons include a knife, a baseball bat, a taser,pepper spray or mace. Examples of more lethal weapons include firearms,such as handguns, rifles, or shotguns.

Once a person decides to purchase or own a firearm to aid in protectingthe person's safety, proper training in the maintenance, storage, anduse of the firearm is recommended by law enforcement and a variety ofgovernmental and private organizations and associations. Generally,responsible firearm ownership entails properly and securely storing thefirearm so that it is inaccessible to children, for example, while alsoensuring that the firearm is easily accessible in case of an emergency,such as a home invasion.

Secure storage generally requires a gun safe or a security cabinet,which are typically located in a closet, which is not always locatedclose to the user as the user moves about their home. For example, whena person is asleep or laying in their bed, the gun safe or securitycabinet may be some distance away from the person and may require theperson to leave the room or move down a hallway to retrieve theirfirearm. Further, in case the person is asleep and an intruder gainsaccess to the person's home or bedroom, it may be too late for theperson to even attempt to reach the storage location of the firearm.

To address this potential issue, security-conscious individuals and themarket have attempted to store firearms closer to the user's bed, suchas via nightstand drawers, nightstand firearm safes, bedside holsters,bedside firearm mounts, or other similar devices or products. One of thedrawbacks of such devices is that these storage locations are obviousfor a firearm, and potential attackers would readily perceive that theuser is attempting to retrieve a firearm if the user reaches for a gunsafe or reaches into a nightstand drawer, for example.

In some cases individuals simply place a firearm under their pillow whengoing to sleep, which is dangerous and unreliable as the firearm mayshift and become entangled in bedding, drop behind mattresses and beds,or be accidentally discharged by virtue of the movement. Accordingly,existing methods and devices have not solved the problem of safely andreliably storing a firearm near a sleeping user such that the firearm issafely retained in place and is easily accessible to the user in adiscreet manner such that the user accessing a firearm is notimmediately apparent to an attacker or an intruder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Like reference numerals in the figures represent and refer to the sameor similar element or function. Implementations of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein may be better understood when consideration isgiven to the following detailed description thereof. Such descriptionmakes reference to the annexed pictorial illustrations, schematics,graphs, drawings, and appendices. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a pillow with a firearmcompartment constructed in accordance with the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway, plan view of the pillow of FIG. 1illustrating a firearm compartment.

FIG. 3 is an end view of pillow of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of a firearm compartmentconstructed in accordance the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that the inventiveconcepts are not limited in their application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of the components or steps ormethodologies set forth in the following description or illustrated inthe drawings. The inventive concepts disclosed herein are capable ofother embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventiveconcepts. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-known featureshave not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicatingthe instant disclosure.

As used herein the notation “a-n” appended to a reference numeral isintended as merely convenient shorthand to reference one, or more thanone, and up to infinity, of the element or feature identified by therespective reference numeral (e.g., 100 a-n). Similarly, a letterfollowing a reference numeral is intended to reference an embodiment ofthe feature or element that may be similar, but not necessarilyidentical, to a previously described element or feature bearing the samereference numeral (e.g., 100, 100 a, 100 b, etc.). Such shorthandnotations are used for purposes of clarity and convenience only, andshould not be construed to limit the inventive concepts disclosed hereinin any way, unless expressly stated to the contrary.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

As used herein the qualifiers “about,” “approximately,” and“substantially” are intended to include not only the exact value,amount, degree, orientation, or other qualified characteristic or value,but are intended to include some slight variations due to measuringerror or precision, manufacturing tolerances, stress exerted on variousparts or components, observer error, wear and tear, and combinationsthereof, for example.

Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. The inventive concepts disclosedherein are intended to encompass any combinations, subcombinations, andpermutations of one or more of the features of the embodiments describedherein.

Embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed topillows including one or more firearm compartments or pockets which areshaped, sized, and configured to securely retain a firearm therein andto allow for quick and safe access to the firearm by users.

Referring now to the drawings, and to FIGS. 1-2 in particular, showntherein is an embodiment of a pillow 100 according to embodiments of theinventive concepts disclosed herein. The pillow 100 includes a pillowassembly 102 and a firearm compartment 104 positioned inside the pillowassembly 102.

The pillow assembly 102 has a top panel 106, a bottom panel 108, andcushioning material 110. The top panel 106 and the bottom panel 108 arejoined together at their periphery to define a peripheral edge 112around the pillow assembly 102. The top panel 106 and the bottom panel108 and may be joined in any desired manner, such as via stitching,seams, piping, decorative stitching, bonding, adhesives, one or morestrips, folds, or rolls of fabric or other material, or combinationsthereof. Further, in some embodiments of the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein, the top panel 106 and the bottom panel 108 may beformed as a unitary panel, which may be folded to define the peripheraledge 112. The top panel 106 and the bottom panel 108 may be constructedof any desired material, such as fabrics, cotton, polymers, naturalfibers or textile, manmade fibers or textiles, knitted fabrics, cloth orfabric materials, braided cloth or fabric materials, leather, fur,pelts, natural materials, manmade material, or combinations thereof, forexample.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 where the pillow assembly 102 is shown asbeing substantially rectangular in shape, the peripheral edge 112 mayinclude a top edge 112 a, a right side edge 112 b, a bottom edge 112 c,and a left side edge 112 d. It is to be understood that a pillowassembly 102 according to embodiments of the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein may have any desired shape such as substantiallysquare, oval, circular, triangular, polygonal, kidney-shaped, orcombinations thereof.

As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art havingthe benefit of the instant disclosure, designations such as top panel oredge, bottom panel or edge, left side, and right side, are used hereinsolely for clarity and convenience to designate portions of the pillowassembly 102 and relate only to orientation of the portions or featuresrelative to one another and not necessarily relative to any externalorientation or direction or object.

The cushioning material 110 (FIG. 4) is enclosed between the top panel106 and the bottom panel 108 and can include cotton, polyester, cottonpolyester blends, silk, feathers, natural or synthetic porous or fibrousmaterials, foams (open or closed-cell), gel, down, memory foam,feathers, down, or any other suitable cushioning materials, andcombinations thereof. The cushioning material 110 is configured toprovide comfortable cushioning or padding to a user's head or body, andmay have one or more layers with varying levels of thickness, firmness,or support, in some embodiment of a pillow assembly 102 according to theinventive concepts disclosed herein.

The firearm compartment 104 is positioned inside the pillow assembly102, and is configured to accommodate the specific shape and dimensionsof a firearm 113 while allowing a user to safely and easily remove thefirearm from the firearm compartment 104. For example, the firearmcompartment 104 may be generally firearm-shaped and may be implementedin a variety of sizes, such as small, medium, and large in someembodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. In someembodiments, the firearm compartment 104 may have an overall depthbetween about 10 and about 20 inches, and an overall width between about5 inches and about 11 inches as will be described below.

The firearm 113 may be a semiautomatic or automatic pistol, a revolver,a derringer, or a taser gun or other electroshock weapon shaped andsized similarly to a semiautomatic pistol, in some embodiments of theinventive concepts disclosed herein. The firearm 113 may include one ormore accessories attached to any portion thereof (e.g., a grip, barrel,slide, or frame), such as laser sights, flashlights, forward grips,night vision or fiber optic sights, magnification sights, extendedmagazines or grips, or combinations thereof, as will be appreciated bypersons of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instantdisclosure. In some embodiments, the firearm compartment 104 may besized in three potential sizes, such as small, medium, and large, forexample to accommodate firearms 113 having a small, medium, or largesize, irrespective or the type or manufacturer of the firearm 113. Insome embodiments where the firearm 113 is a revolver, the firearmcompartment 104 may be configured to accommodate a cylinder of thefirearm 113. Further, in some exemplary embodiments, the firearmcompartment 104 may be sized, dimensioned, and configured to receive aparticular, brand, model, model-type, or variant of a firearm 113, aswill be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of the instant disclosure.

The firearm compartment 104 includes a top panel 114 and a bottom panel116 joined together at an edge 118 and cooperating with one another soas to define an opening 120, a hand portion 122 adjacent to the opening120, a grip portion 124 adjacent to the hand portion 122, a triggerguard portion 126 adjacent to the grip portion 124, and a barrel portion128 adjacent to the trigger guard portion 126.

The firearm compartment 104 is positioned inside the pillow assembly 102so that the opening 120 substantially aligns with the right side edge112 b, or is positioned adjacent to (e.g., formed in the top panel 106or in the bottom panel 108) the right side edge 112 b such that thefirearm compartment 104 extends substantially centered in the pillowassembly 102 in a direction from the right side edge 112 b toward theleft side edge 112 d. It is to be understood that in some embodiments,the firearm compartment 104 may be oriented at any desired angle insidethe pillow assembly 102, and in some embodiments, the opening 120 mayopen at the top edge 112 a, bottom edge 112 c, left side edge 112 d, toppanel 106, or bottom panel 108.

The top panel 114 and the bottom panel 116 of the firearm compartment104 may be constructed of any desired materials such as fabrics,polymers, fibrous materials, leather, para-aramid or other syntheticfibers, fabric, cloth, suede, or other suitable materials, and may bejoined to one another in any desired manner such as via stitching,seams, adhesives, bonding, piping, ultrasonic welding, or combinationsthereof. In some embodiments, the top panel 114 and the bottom panel 116may include a layer of cushioning material 134 (FIG. 4) such as densefoam-type material coupled therewith or incorporated therein such thatthe firearm 113 positioned inside the firearm compartment 104 isvirtually undetectable by a user using the pillow and does not cause anydiscomfort to a user laying on the pillow assembly 102. The cushioningmaterial 134 may also provide rigidity and support to the firearmcompartment 104 so that the firearm 113 is prevented from rotating orshifting once positioned inside the firearm compartment 104, forexample. In some exemplary embodiments, the cushioning material 134 mayinclude one or more layers of different materials, while in someembodiments, the cushioning material 134 may be omitted.

The opening 120 may be substantially aligned with the left side edge 112d, or may be formed in the top panel 106 or bottom panel 108 adjacent tothe left side edge 112 d, for example. In the embodiments where theopening 120 is substantially aligned with the left side edge 112 d, theopening 120 may be virtually undetectable to a person unaware of thepresence of the firearm compartment 104 inside the pillow assembly 102.Further, in some embodiments the opening 120 may be aligned with the topedge 112 a, and right side edge 112 b, or the bottom edge 112 c.

The opening 120 includes a closure mechanism 136 configured toselectively close or open the opening 120 so as to selectively allow auser to insert the firearm 113 in the firearm compartment 104 when theclosure mechanism 136 is open (FIG. 3), and to retain the firearm 113 inthe firearm compartment 104 when the closure mechanism 136 is closed(FIG. 2). The closure mechanism 136 may be implemented as a hook andloop fastener coupled with the opening 120, as a zipper coupled with theopening 120, magnetic closure mechanism 136 including one or moremagnets coupled with the opening 120 and configured to close the opening120, or may include snaps, buttons, adhesive strips, pads, sections, ormembers, or combinations thereof.

In some exemplary embodiment, the opening 120 and/or the closuremechanism 136 may include a quick-access portion 138, which may beconfigured to allow a user to quickly and reliably open the closuremechanism 136, and may at the same time visually or haptically indicateto a user the orientation of the firearm compartment 104 in the pillowassembly 102 (e.g., which way the grip of the firearm 113 is positionedinside the firearm compartment 104) so as or allow the user to rapidlyopen the closure mechanism and acquire a good firing grip on the firearm113, for example.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the quick-access portion 138 may beimplemented as a relatively small portion of the closure mechanism 136configured to remain opened as the closure mechanism 136 is closed, soas to allow a user to insert a finger into the quick-access portion 138and slide the finger through the closure mechanism 136 along the opening120 so as to quickly and consistently open the closure mechanism 136 andinsert the user's hand inside the hand portion 122 of the firearmcompartment 104 at the appropriate orientation. As will be appreciatedby persons or ordinary skill in the art, the quick-access portion 138may be positioned anywhere along the closure mechanism 136 and/or theopening 120, such as at an end of the closure mechanism 136, or at amiddle of the closure mechanism 136, for example. In embodiments of theinventive concepts herein where the quick-access portion 138 serves asan indicator of the orientation of the firearm compartment 104 insidethe pillow assembly 102, appropriate instructions may be provided to theusers of the pillow 100 indicative of the position of the quick-accessportion 138 and the corresponding orientation of the firearm compartment104 inside the pillow assembly 102. Further, in some embodiments, thequick-access portion 138 may be omitted, or two or more quick-accessportions 138 may be provided with the closure mechanism 136.

Further, in some embodiments any desired visual or haptic markings maybe provided with the opening 120 and/or with the pillow assembly 102 toindicate the orientation of the firearm compartment 104 and/or thelocation of the quick-access portion 138 to a user. For example, in oneembodiment, the pillow assembly 102 may include a tag 139 extending fromthe left side edge 112 d adjacent to and aligned with the quick assessportion 138. Other markings may include, for example, colored areas,roughened areas, glow in the dark areas, different material areas,arrows, markings, letters, words, logos, and combinations thereof, forexample.

The hand portion 122 has a width 140 and a depth 142 configured to allowthe user to insert the firearm 113 in the firearm compartment 104 and tohave sufficient space for a user's hand to be inserted into the firearmcompartment 104 such that the uses is able to acquire a firing grip(e.g., firmly and securely grasp the firearm in a grip allowing the userto operate and/or fire the firearm) on the firearm 113 when the firearm113 is positioned inside the firearm compartment 104 without removingthe firearm 113 from the firearm compartment 104. The width 140 may besubstantially equal to or slightly larger than a width of the firearm113 for which the firearm compartment 104 is configured. For example,the width 140 may be between about 6 inches and about 10 inches (e.g.,about 6 inches where the firearm compartment 104 is configured for asmall firearm 113, and about 10 inches where the firearm compartment 104is configured for a medium or large firearm 113), and the depth 142 maybe configured based on a typical or average size of an adult human handsuch as being about 4 inches in some exemplary embodiments.

The grip portion 124 is positioned adjacent to the hand portion 122 andhas a width 144 and a depth 146 and is configured to snugly receive agrip 148 (FIG. 2) of the firearm 113 therein and to allow a user's handto be at least partially positioned around the grip 148 when the grip148 is positioned in the grip portion 124. In some embodiments, the gripportion 124 may be sized, dimensioned, and configured such that aportion of the user's hand (e.g., a trigger finger, for example, may atleast partially extend past the grip portion 124 and into the triggerguard portion 126 and/or the barrel portion 128 as will be appreciatedby persons of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of theinstant disclosure.

The width 144 of the grip portion 124 may be substantially equal to, orat least as large as the width 140 of the hand portion 122 (e.g.,between about 6 inches and about 10 inches) such that the firearm 113may be inserted and extracted through the hand portion 122 and the gripportion 124 without snagging as will be appreciated by persons ofordinary skill in the art.

Similarly, the depth 146 of the grip portion 124 may vary between about3 inches and about 8 inches in some exemplary embodiments, For example,the depth 146 may be about 3.75 inches where the firearm compartment 104is configured for a small firearm 113, about 5.25 inches where thefirearm compartment is configured for a medium firearm 113, and about7.25 inches where the firearm compartment is configured for a largefirearm 113.

It is to be understood that in some embodiments, the hand portion 122and the grip portion 124 may be formed as a unitary portion of thefirearm compartment 104. Further, in some embodiments where the firearm113 is a pistol, the grip portion 124 may be dimensioned and configuredto receive a portion of the slide and frame of the firearm 113, and insome embodiments where the firearm 113 is a revolver the grip portion124 may be dimensioned and configured to receive a portion of the frame,cylinder, and/or hammer of the firearm 113.

The trigger guard portion 126 is positioned adjacent to the grip portion124 and has a width 150 and a depth 152. The trigger guard portion 126is configured to receive a trigger guard 154 of the firearm 113 and/or aportion of the barrel 156 of the firearm 113. In some embodiments, thetrigger guard portion 126 is sized and dimensioned so as to allow auser's trigger finger to extend at least partially into the triggerguard portion 126 or past the trigger guard portion 126 and/or to allowthe user's trigger finger to be inserted into the trigger guard so as tooperate the trigger 158 of the firearm 113. The width 150 may varybetween about 3 inches and about 8 inches, for example, the width 150may be about 3.75 inches where the firearm compartment 104 is configuredfor a small firearm 113, about 6.25 inches where the firearm compartment104 is configured for a medium firearm 113, and about 7.25 inches wherethe firearm compartment 104 is configured for a large firearm 113.Similarly, the width 150 may vary between about 2 inches and about 3inches, such as by being about 2.25 inches where the firearm compartment104 is configured for a small firearm 113, and about 2.5 inches wherethe firearm compartment 104 is configured for a medium or large firearm113.

As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, whilethe trigger guard portion 126 is shown as being substantiallyrectangular in shape, in some embodiments the trigger guard portion 126may have any desired shape configured to receive a trigger guard 154 ofthe firearm 113 therein such as by being oval, elliptical, circular,rounded-off, triangular, or combinations thereof. Further, in someembodiments, the trigger guard portion 126 may be dimensioned andconfigured to receive a portion of the barrel 156, frame and slide ofthe firearm 113 where the firearm 113 is a semiautomatic of automaticpistol, or may be dimensioned and configured to receive a portion of thecylinder and/or a portion of the barrel 156 where the firearm 113 is arevolver and/or a derringer, for example.

The barrel portion 128 has a width 160 and a depth 162 and isdimensioned and configured to receive the barrel 156 and/or the slide ofthe firearm 113. In some embodiments the barrel portion 128 may bedimensioned and configured receive an accessory attached to the barrel156 of the firearm 113, such as a light, a laser, a forward grip, andcombinations thereof, for example. For example, the width 160 may varybetween about 2 inches and about 4 inches, such that the width is about2 inches where the firearm compartment 104 is configured for a smallfirearm 113, and about 4 inches where the firearm compartment 104 isconfigured for a medium or large firearm 113. Similarly, the depth 162may vary between about 2 inches and about 7 inches, such that the depth162 is about 2 inches where the firearm compartment 104 is configuredfor a small firearm 113, and such that the depth 162 is about 7 incheswhere the firearm compartment 104 is configured for a medium or largefirearm 113.

The grip portion 124, the trigger guard portion 126, and the barrelportion 128 cooperate with one another to allow the firearm 113 to beinserted into the firearm compartment 104 and to securely retain thefirearm 113 in the firearm compartment 104 such that the firearm 113 isprevented from rotating inside the firearm compartment 104 and such thata user may obtain a firing grip on the firearm 113 inside the firearmcompartment 104. As will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill inthe art having the benefit of the instant disclosure, in an emergencythe user may fire the firearm 113 inside the firearm compartment 104, orthe user may withdraw, or otherwise remove the firearm 113 from thefirearm compartment 104 and fire the firearm 113 immediately aswarranted by the situation.

In some exemplary embodiments, the firearm compartment 104 may beanchored inside the pillow assembly 102 via one or more anchor straps170 coupled with the edge 118 and with the peripheral edge 112 (e.g.,the left side edge 112 d, the top edge 112 a, and/or the bottom edge 112c) to prevent the firearm compartment 104 from being pulled out orbecoming turned inside out when a user is removing a firearm 113 fromthe firearm compartment 104.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2, two anchor straps 170 are shownsecured, attached to, or otherwise coupled with the barrel portion 128and with the left side edge 112 d of the pillow assembly 102. In someembodiments, however, any desired number of anchor straps 170 may becoupled with one or more of or at an intersection of the hand portion122, the grip portion 124, the trigger guard portion 126, the barrelportion 128, the top edge 112 a, the bottom edge 112 c, and the rightside edge 112 b. The anchor straps 170 may have any desired size orshape (e.g., string or rope-shaped, or band or strip shaped) and may beconstructed of any desired material such as cloth, fibrous material,ropes, strings, braided strands of material, or combinations thereof,for example.

The anchor straps 170 are configured to securely hold or retain thefirearm compartment 104 in place inside the pillow assembly 102,ensuring maximum safety when inserting the firearm 113 in the firearmcompartment 104, storing the firearm 113 in the firearm compartment 104,and removing the firearm 113 from the firearm compartment 104.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown therein is an embodiment of a firearmcompartment 104 a. The firearm compartment 104 a may be implementedsubstantially similarly to the firearm compartment 104, except that thefirearm compartment 104 a includes a trigger guard portion 126 a. Thefirearm compartment 104 a may be configured to receive a firearm 113 awhich is implemented as a large revolver in this embodiment. The triggerguard portion 126 a is shown as being substantially triangular andconfigured to receive a trigger guard of the firearm 113 a, as will beappreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art having the benefitof the instant disclosure.

In some embodiments, firearm compartment pillows 100 according to theinventive concepts disclosed herein may include one or more of thefollowing features: Kevlar-lined pillow assembly 102 and/or firearmcompartment 104, body-armor panels of pillow assembly 102, additionalmagazine, ammunition, or flashlight pockets or compartments formed inthe pillow assembly 102 and/or positioned in the firearm compartment104, pepper spray pockets or compartments, taser pockets orcompartments, or combinations thereof, for example. In some embodiments,additional substantially L-shaped or T-shaped pockets or compartmentsmay be formed in the pillow assembly 102 to allow for the secureinsertion of an item and for access to the item by a user's hand via thebroader portion of the T-shape or L-shape as will be appreciated bypersons of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instantdisclosure. Further, in some embodiments, such additional pockets orcompartments may be formed in the pillow assembly 102 adjacent to thefirearm compartment 104, aligned with the peripheral edge 112, or in thetop panel 106 and/or bottom panel 105, and may be closed with anydesired closure mechanisms (e.g., implemented similarly to the closuremechanism 136).

In operation, a method of using a firearm compartment pillow such as thepillow 100 according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein forself-defense or for defense of the user's loved ones or home may beimplemented as follows.

The user may use the pillow 100 as a conventional pillow by placing thepillow 100 in a pillow case (not shown) for example, with the opening120 of the firearm compartment 104 positioned on an open side of thepillow case for accessing the firearm compartment 104.

The user may place any desired firearm such as the firearm 113 in thefirearm compartment 104 (e.g., with a loaded magazine inserted and around chambered with the safety engaged, with a loaded magazine insertedbut no round chambered and the safety either engaged or disengaged, withno magazine inserted and no round chambered, with a full cylinder, withan empty cylinder, or unloaded as desired). The user may use the pillow100 as desired, such as like a conventional pillow on which the usersleeps, a couch pillow, a camping pillow, a vehicle pillow, a beachpillow, or combinations thereof.

In an emergency situation where the user may have to resort to using afirearm, such as the firearm 113, to defend themselves or a loved one,the user may access the firearm compartment 104 such as by locating therapid-access portion 138, rapidly opening the closure mechanism 136 andacquiring a firing grip on the firearm 113. Depending on the situationand the judgment of the user, the user may fire the firearm 113 frominside the firearm compartment 104 to engage the threat, or may removethe firearm 113 from the firearm compartment 104 and engage the threat.

In some embodiments, the an experienced and appropriately trained usermay maintain a firearm 113 inside the pillow 100 at all times, while insome embodiments, the user may carry the firearm 113 on their person orin an appropriate container, such as a vehicle, purse, briefcase, orholster, and may insert the firearm 113 inside the pillow 100 when usingthe pillow to sleep, for example. Further, in some embodiments, asecurity conscious user may transfer the firearm 113 from a securefirearm storage location to the pillow 100 as part of the user's bedtimeroutine and/or may remove the firearm 113 from the pillow 100 and returnthe firearm 113 to the secure firearm storage location as part of theuser's waking morning routine.

Embodiments of firearm compartment pillows such as the pillow 100according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein are discreet andinconspicuous, and an intruder or a person other than the user may beunaware of the firearm compartment 104 and/or firearm 113 positionedinside the pillow 100. Further, embodiments of firearm compartmentpillows 100 according to the inventive concepts disclosed herein allowusers to safely, securely, and discreetly store a firearm where thefirearm is always easily and rapidly accessible by the user, and allowusers to reliably and quickly acquire a firing grip on the firearm 113in an emergency such as a home invasion or attack. With embodiments offirearm compartment pillows 100 as described herein, users may becertain as to the location, position, and orientation of the firearm 113at all times and may have the confidence and assurance that the firearm113 is accessible at all times should the need to use the firearm 113 todefend the user or loved ones materializes.

From the above description, it is clear that the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein are well adapted and configured to carry out theobjects and to attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as thoseinherent in the inventive concepts disclosed herein. While exemplaryembodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein have beendescribed for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood thatnumerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves tothose skilled in the art and which are accomplished within the scope andcoverage of the inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pillow for holding a firearm, comprising: apillow assembly having at least a top panel and a bottom panel linedwith one another in a way to define at least one edge; and a firearmcompartment positioned inside the pillow assembly, the firearmcompartment comprising a top panel and a bottom joined with one anotherin way to define: an opening positioned adjacent to the edge; a handportion adjacent to the opening and configured to receive a user's handtherein; a grip portion adjacent to the hand portion, the grip portionhaving a first width and a first depth and being configured to receive afirearm grip therein when a firearm is inserted into the firearmcompartment and to allow access to the firearm grip by a user's hand; atrigger guard portion adjacent to the grip portion, the trigger guardportion having a second width less than the first width and a seconddepth less than the first depth and being configured to receive atrigger guard of the firearm when the firearm is inserted into thefirearm compartment; and a barrel portion adjacent to the trigger guardportion, the barrel portion having a third depth and a third width lessthan the second width, and being configured to receive at least aportion of a barrel of the firearm when the firearm is inserted in thefirearm compartment.
 2. The pillow of claim 1, wherein the firearmcompartment further comprises a closure mechanism for selectivelyclosing the opening of the firearm compartment and wherein a portion ofthe opening is free of the closure mechanism so as to define a quickaccess portion configured to allow a user to rapidly open the closuremechanism.
 3. The pillow of claim 2, further comprising a tag extendingfrom the edge adjacent to and aligned with the quick assess portion. 4.The pillow of claim 1, further comprising at least one anchoring straphaving one end connected to the pillow assembly and one end connected tothe firearm compartment in a way to retain the firearm compartmentsecurely inside the pillow assembly when the firearm is inserted intothe firearm compartment and removed from the firearm compartment.
 5. Thepillow of claim 4, wherein the firearm compartment further comprises aclosure mechanism for selectively closing the opening of the firearmcompartment and wherein a portion of the opening is free of the closuremechanism so as to define a quick access portion configured to allow auser to rapidly open the closure mechanism.
 6. The pillow of claim 5,further comprising a tag extending from the edge adjacent to and alignedwith the quick assess portion.
 7. A pillow for holding a firearm,comprising: a pillow assembly having at least a top panel and a bottompanel lined with one another in a way to define at least one edge and acushioning material disposed between the top panel and the bottom panel;and a firearm compartment positioned inside the pillow assembly, thefirearm compartment comprising a top panel and a bottom joined with oneanother in way to define: an opening positioned adjacent to the edge; ahand portion adjacent to the opening and configured to receive a user'shand therein; a grip portion adjacent to the hand portion, the gripportion having a first width and a first depth and being configured toreceive a firearm grip therein when a firearm is inserted into thefirearm compartment and to allow access to the firearm grip by a user'shand; a trigger guard portion adjacent to the grip portion, the triggerguard portion having a second width less than the first width and asecond depth less than the first depth and being configured to receive atrigger guard of the firearm when the firearm is inserted into thefirearm compartment; and a barrel portion adjacent to the trigger guardportion, the barrel portion having a third depth and a third width lessthan the second width, and being configured to receive at least aportion of a barrel of the firearm when the firearm is inserted in thefirearm compartment.
 8. The pillow of claim 7, wherein the firearmcompartment further comprises a closure mechanism for selectivelyclosing the opening of the firearm compartment and wherein a portion ofthe opening is free of the closure mechanism so as to define a quickaccess portion configured to allow a user to rapidly open the closuremechanism.
 9. The pillow of claim 8, further comprising a tag extendingfrom the edge adjacent to and aligned with the quick assess portion. 10.The pillow of claim 7, further comprising at least one anchoring straphaving one end connected to the pillow assembly and one end connected tothe firearm compartment in a way to retain the firearm compartmentsecurely inside the pillow assembly when the firearm is inserted intothe firearm compartment and removed from the firearm compartment. 11.The pillow of claim 10, wherein the firearm compartment furthercomprises a closure mechanism for selectively closing the opening of thefirearm compartment and wherein a portion of the opening is free of theclosure mechanism so as to define a quick access portion configured toallow a user to rapidly open the closure mechanism.
 12. The pillow ofclaim 11, further comprising a tag extending from the edge adjacent toand aligned with the quick assess portion.